LONDON (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo has stripped British energy firm Tullow of its rights to develop two oil blocks on Lake Albert, according to documents seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Presidential decrees awarded little-known energy firms Caprikat and Foxwhelp, both registered in the British Virgin Islands, development rights to Block 1 and Block 2 on the lake, which straddles the Congo-Uganda frontier.
The blocks had previously been awarded to Tullow in a 2006 accord in which the company paid a $500,000 signing bonus, and South Africa's Divine Inspiration Group also claims rights to Block 1 after a 2008 deal in which it paid $2.5 million.
"The award of these licences to an unknown British Virgin Islands registered company does nothing to help Africa build any sort of reputation for transparency," Tullow said in a statement emailed to Reuters.
"We are reviewing our options but have no doubt about the legal validity of our claims to these blocks," it said.
Congo's director of projects at the Ministry of Mines confirmed the awards. "It's true, exactly," he told Reuters.
The vast central African state, once a major minerals producer but scarred by a 1998-2003 war and ongoing rebellions that killed millions, has attracted a flurry of investor interest after a big oil find on the Ugandan side of Lake Albert.
Tullow holds a development deal on the Ugandan side of the lake and had been hoping to join them with the Congolese blocks.
The Ministry of Mines is seeking a $6 million signature bonus from Caprikat and Foxwhelp for the awards, according to a letter dated June 10 and seen by Reuters.
Land-based Block 3 goes to SacOil, a South African consortium in which Divine and Encha Group each have a 50 percent share and which had signed an accord in 2007, according to the documents.
